Hinge construction for cable terminal



Feb. 26, 1957 G. c. MOTSINGER HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOR CABLE TERMINAL Filed Feb. 11, 1954 In Wm 'HINGE CONSTRUCTIONFOR CABLE TERMINAL George C. Motsinger, Chicago, 11]., assignor to'R eliable Electric Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February ll, 1954, Serial No. 409,648

2 Claims. (Cl. 16-128) This invention relates to a cable terminal, and more particularly to a hinge construction for the door which encloses the door opening of a cable terminal. I

A cable terminal'includes a box-like housing which contains suitable terminal elements, fuses, arresters, etc. One side of the housing is open to provide access to the housing interior, and a door is provided to close the opening and seal the interior from outside elements. This invention, as aforesaid, concerns itself with a hinge construction which interconnects the door with the housing of the terminal.

A cable terminal normally is suspended from a telephone cable or a pole which supports a cable. In either case the terminal is located outdoors and accordingly the access opening therein must be weather sealed.

Normal servicing is performed when the cable terminal is in its mounted position, and to facilitate access to the interior it is customary that the door be hinged along its lower horizontal edge. With the hinge in this location the door may be opened and its own weight causes it to hang downwardly out of the way of the door opening. Thus, it is not necessary to use one hand or other means to hold the door open during a service operation. 1

The top edge of the door has a U-shaped flange which embraces a cooperating sealing rib on the terminal housing when the door is closed. This U-shaped flange and rib arrangement provide a seal which is effective to keep moisture from entering. the housing when the door is closed. The flange and rib arrangement, however, requires that the door be movable up and down as it is opened and closed. The hinge construction of my invention is such that this required up and down movement is permitted.

One object of the invention is to provide a hinge for ;a door which must be moved up and down as the door is opened and closed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge manufacture and assemble and which is durable and fool- ;proof in operation.

Inasmuch as the door of a cable terminal is vulnerable to damage due to maliciousness (gun shot, for ex- :ample) or carelessness during a service operation, it is another object of the invention to provide a hinge which easily may be dismounted so the door or hinge elements may be repaired or replaced as necessary. This dismounting feature eliminates the need for replacing the entire terminal, an expensive, time-consuming and servicedisrupting job, in the event the door or hinge elements are damaged.

Still another object is to provide a hinge which possesses resilient characteristics and which cooperates with a door having a sealing element, the resilience of the hinge being efiective to establish a seal at the sealing element when the door is closed.

Other objects, advantages and details of the invention 2,782,455 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 .stood that the description and drawing are illustrative .only, and that the scope of the invention is to be measured by theappended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a cable terminal suspended in operating position from a telephone cable or the like;

,Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of the terminal shown in Fig. 1, the terminal door being shown in closed position;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view, partly in section of the terminal showing the door in partly open position, and

Fig. 4 is .a fragmentary view in front elevation of the terminal illustrating details of the invention.

Referringto the drawing, the numeral 5 designates a cable terminal supported by straps 6 from a telephone cable or the like 7. Cable 7, in turn, is supported by members 8 from a messenger 9.

Terminal 5 includes a box-like housing 10 having a bottom 11, top 12, rear side 13 and end sides 14. The front side of housing 10 constitutes a door opening 15.

A door 20 encloses door opening 15, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The upper edge of door 20 is bent back upon itself to provide a U-shaped flange 21 which, as shown in Fig. 2, embraces, when the door is closed, a sealing rib 22 carried on the forward edge of housing top 12. Door 20 also has rearwardly extending flanges 24 along each end.

Door 20 is hinged at its lower edge to housing 10 by the hinge construction of the invention which includes a pair of pintles 25 (Fig. 1), one pintle being located at each end of the housing. The pintles 25 are mounted in a resilient manner on housing 10 and they engage door 20. As here shown, pintles 25 extend through respective openings 26 provided in the lower portions of the rearwardly extending door flanges 24.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a pintle 25 is carried at the free end of a leaf spring member 30 (Fig. 4) which is secured to housing bottom 11 at a region 31 which is spaced a substantial distance inwardly from one end of the bottom. Suitable screws 32 or the like are used to secure spring member 30 to the housing bottom.

Spring member 30 has a bend 33 therein adjacent securing region, 31, and the spring extends to the end of bottom 11 in spaced relation with the bottom, as best shown in Fig. 4. The amount of bend provided at 33 is suflicient to provide a bias acting downwardly on door 2i when the door is in closed position as shown in Fig. 2. This bias insures a sealed relationship between U-shaped flange 21 at the top edge of the door and rib 22.

With this hinge construction it will be seen that pintles 25 and the door portions engaged thereby are movable in a plane parallel to door opening 15, thus permitting the movement necessary to open and close the door in view of U-shaped flange 21 and the sealing rib 22.

The resilience of the means for mounting pintles 25 is effective to permit this movement, as shown in Fig. 3 compared with Fig. 2, as well as to provide a bias which pulls downwardly on the door when closed and thus establishes the aforesaid sealed relationship.

From a e above description it is thought that the construction and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Various changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit or losing the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A hinge construction for a door enclosing the door openingof a cable terminah said hinge construction comprising a pair of leaf spring members'secured' rigidly to the bottom of'said terminal at'respective regions spaced a substantial distance inwardly from the ends of said bottom, said spring members each having a bend therein adjacent the respective securing regions and extending to the ends of said bottom in spaced relation with said bottom, the free end of each spring member having a pintle engaging the adjacent end of said door whereby the ena bias which pulls said door toward said members.

2. A hinge construction for a door enclosing the door opening of a cable terminal wherein one edge of said door has a U-shaped flange embracing a cooperating sealing rib on said cable terminal, said hinge construction being disposed at the door edge/opposite said U-shaped flange and comprising a leaf spring member secured n'gidly in a detachable manner to the bottom of said terminal at a region spaced a substantial distance inwardly from one end of said bottom, said spring member having a bend therein adjacent the securing region and extending to the end of said bottom in spaced relation with said bottom, the free end of said spring member having a pintle engaging the adjacent end of said door whereby the engaged portion of said door is movable in a plane parallel to the plane of the door opening to permit engagement and disengagement of said flange and said rib, the said spring member providing a bias which pulls said door toward said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Levereth Apr. 1, 1952 

